Adam Jones Emerald
It may have a new cast, but it’s the same old thrilling show.
Jason Fife crafted a fourth-quarter comeback — the first of his young Oregon career — and led the Ducks to an unlikely 28-24 victory over the Fresno State Bulldogs Saturday at Autzen Stadium. Fife recovered from a late fumble to lead a 54-second, four-play drive that ended in Onterrio Smith’s winning touchdown with 1:07 remaining in the game.
“If I wrote a storybook ending to this game, this would be it,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said.
The second half mirrored the game in its bumpy, inconsistent momentum. Late in the third quarter, Fresno State seized command of the game when Bulldog running back Rodney Davis capped a long drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, putting Fresno State ahead 24-15 with 5:30 left in the third.
But the Ducks opened the fourth with a momentum-shifting drive of their own, ending in Smith’s first touchdown of the game and the season. That drive featured the most gutsy call of the game, Bellotti’s decision to go for it on fourth-and-one from the Bulldog 4-yard line. The play, an Smith run up the left side, worked, and three plays later the junior tailback stuffed the ball into the endzone.
On Fresno State’s next drive, the Bulldogs also had a fourth-and-one situation, from Oregon’s 26-yard line. Where Smith succeeded, Davis failed to convert the first down for Fresno State.
Later in the fourth quarter, with the Ducks still down two points, Fife engineered a seven-play drive that put Oregon on the Fresno State 11-yard line with 4:25 left in the game. Fife took the ball around the left side but was slammed by three Fresno State defenders who forced the ball from his grasp.
“Overall, (Fife) made a couple mistakes that he’d like to take back,” Bellotti said. “But he didn’t let any mistake get him down.”
The Oregon defense held the Bulldogs on the next possession, forcing Fresno State to punt with 2:14 left in the game. That’s when Fife led his first comeback drive, starting with a 23-yard strike to Samie Parker on the right sideline, to the joy of the home crowd. Fife and Parker connected all game, to the tune of 161 yards and one touchdown. After another 12-yard pass to Parker, Smith ran off-tackle to the right for 7 yards, then off the right again for the winning touchdown.
“We knew we were going to win the whole time,” Smith said. “We knew we had a chance to win it.”
Fife said he will only grow from his first tight game.
“It’s good to know that in tight situations, the defense will get us the ball back,” Fife said. “I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Oregon fans — 56,357 at Autzen and many more on national television — saw the Ducks recover from their first anemic performance of the season. Oregon scored on its third play of the game — a 70-yard strike from Fife to Parker — but the Ducks didn’t put up another touchdown until Smith’s early fourth-quarter run.
But Oregon did recover, and provided another stomach-turning win in the tradition of recent comebacks.
Notes: Fife was sacked five times, the first coming moments after a trivia question flashed on the DuckVision scoreboard. The question was “How many sacks did the Ducks give up last season,” and the answer was “11”… With his one catch Saturday, Oregon wide receiver Keenan Howry has now caught passes in 37 straight games… With the win, Bellotti now ranks as the winningest coach, by percentage, in Oregon history. His winning percentage is .729… Oregon only trailed once at halftime all last season, 6-3 against Oregon State. The Ducks trailed 17-10 to Fresno State at the half.
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